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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. rush — hurry
  3. can — a tin
  4. mug — a cup
  5. tear — from crying
  6. can — a tin
  7. squash — the sport
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. can — to be able to
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. last — finally
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — to rip
  14. pop — soda
  15. last — to go on
  16. cell — in biology
  17. squash — to crush
  18. cell — a phone
  19. pop — to visit
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. pop — music
  22. mug — to rob
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. last — final

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com